Primarily a collection of news links about all 10 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

A last-seconds loss capped a meh weekend in SoCal for the Bulldogs, and really is a microcosm for a season in which Butler hasn't yet hit all cylinders for any significant stretch of time. The Bulldogs are still formidable, but this may indeed be the "year before the year" for the still youthful Horizon kings....Dec. 8

Georgetown 72, Butler 65

The Hoyas hadn't really played anyone since edging Temple in a low-scoring grinder almost a month earlier, so this was a solid win at MSG. It also provided the contrast between a team that's thriving in because its big man is playing very well (Greg Monroe) and one that hasn't reached expected heights because its big man has struggled and been foul-prone (Matt Howard). Now if G'town would just stop playing ODU at McDonough......Dec. 19

Butler 69, Xavier 68

One of the 'xanier' endings of the season, featuring a 35-second final possession in which Xavier almost forced a turnover three or four times and a clock stoppage that led to Butler's winning layup with under two seconds left being declared the final play of the game. Xavier routed LSU Tuesday night and has another chance to make a nonleague statement Saturday at Wake Forest....Dec. 22

UAB 69, Butler 59

... along with the Blazers, who have beaten Cincinnati, Florida-slayer South Alabama and the Bulldogs by double digits in their last three outings. UAB sits at 11-1, with a loss "@ Kent." Even though that's Kent State, not Kentucky, expect the Blazers to be a strong at-large contender if they don't get the auto bid....

Other notable games:... * Kansas State 85, Cleveland State 56: Jacob Pullen scored 18 points and Curtis Kelly added 17 as the Wildcats pulled away with a big run midway through the first half, opening up a 40-19 halftime lead.

8:00 pm: Cleveland State @ Kansas State: The Vikings are not quite the same team they were last season, but led by Norris Cole, they cam every close to knocking off West Virginia. Can they do the same against a K-State team with much better guard play?

* All I want for Christmas ... is for the Valparaiso University men's and women's basketball teams to finish in the upper half of the Horizon League.

Is that possible? At times over the last month, it has looked possible. Then at other times VU fans can only shake their heads and fondly wish for the good old days of 1998 (for the men) and 2003 (for the women), when reaching the NCAA Tournament was something to cheer, not fantasize about.